A number of historic events around the world taking place this coming Summer and Fall have been canceled due to the coronavirus.
Spain decided to cancel the 400-year-old Running of the Bulls event because of the pandemic. This event takes place, under normal circumstances, every July.
Bulls race through narrow city streets as hundreds of people outrun them seeking an adrenaline rush.“
As expected as it was, it still leaves us deeply sad,” said Ana Elizalde, the acting mayor of Pamplona, according to The Guardian.
Spain follows the United States with the second-highest amount of confirmed coronavirus cases at 204,178.
Germany has decided to cancel its famous Oktoberfest, which was scheduled to take place Sept. 19 through Oct. 4. Six million people were expected to attend, which would bring in approximately $1.1 billion to the city of Munich.
“A decision that saddens us all: It affects me, deeply and personally. A festival for millions, which stands for Munich, for the joy of life, for Bavaria, cannot take place,” said Clemens Baumgärtner, the head of Oktoberfest.
Germany, as of today, has approximately 147,500 cases of coronavirus, and more than 4,860 people have died. According to Baumgärtner, the festival is one that can not be moved or postponed. Baumgärtner expressed that this was the right decision because there was no guarantee that the festival would not pose a threat to the safety of those who attended.
Here in the United States, San Diego’s very own Comic-Con is now canceled for the first time in 50 years. The next planned event will be July 22-25, 2021.
For those who purchased a badge for this year’s show, they will receive an email this coming week with instructions on how to request a refund or transfer their badge to Comic-Con 2021.
“Recognizing that countless attendees save and plan for its conventions each year, and how many exhibitors and stakeholders rely upon its events for a major portion of their livelihood, they had hoped to delay this decision in anticipation that COVID-19 concerns might lessen by summer. Continuous monitoring of health advisories and recent statements by the Governor of California have made it clear that it would not be safe to move forward with plans for this year,” Comic-Con International said in a statement.
The organizers of Burning Man have decided to cancel this year’s event as well. They usually have around 80,000 people meet in the Nevada desert. However, this year they have decided to hold a “Virtual Burning Man” with hopes that it will attract 100,00 people to attend online.
The virtual event will have a ticket price but that has yet to be announced. The cancellation of this event will lead to “substantial staff layoffs, pay reductions, and other belt-tightening measures,” the Burning Man organization announced on its website. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Burning Man brings Nevada $60 million each year.
An abundance of concerts/tours have been either canceled or postponed, including Bon Jovi, Shania Twain, Harry Styles, and Billie Eilish. Taylor Swift, in particular, postponed all of her concerts, which were supposed to start on June 20 in Werchter, Belgium, and end on August 1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Swift was supposed to headline at the ever famous Glastonbury Festival which has now been canceled as well. According to Glastonbury’s statement on their website, “Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th-anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option.”
